Matt Kroschel is a CBS-TV multimedia journalist originally from Colorado now reporting in Huntsville, Alabama for WHNT News 19. We are Taking Action and Getting Results! Send news tips on Twitter @ Matt_Kroschel.

Monday, February 27, 2012

Privacy Concerns Force One Woman To Speak Out

by
Matt Kroschel

Grand Junction - We have all heard about GPS tracking in
our phones, but now, hidden tracking units in some vehicles we purchase
give dealers the ability to track your every move in real time from
their computers. Over the last few years, "buy here, pay here" lots
worried about high risk loans they make on vehicles they sell at across
the county have began the installing tracking units. The growing
industry-wide trend leaves some customers with privacy concerns.

“I
think it is creepy. They already know where I live. Now, they know
where I am all the time. It is weird,” Clifton resident Dominicque
Barker told NewsChannel 5 Tuesday afternoon. Barker purchased a used
Cadillac Escalade, a vehicle that fits into a high-risk category
according to industry insiders.

We can confirm that most
companies that sell new and used cars and also offer financing here in
the Grand Valley use some form of GPS tracking on at least some of the
cars they sell. Because of privacy concerns, the companies we asked to
go on camera for this story refused to be interviewed, but they did
provide us with information about the type of tracking systems they use
and what capabilities they have.

NewsChannel 5 has learned
companies like Rocky Mountain Tracking, a Fort Collins based GPS
provider, offer the units for under a $200 investment to start.
Customers can also purchase upgrades that give the ability to shut down a
vehicle remotely and have car alarms engaged.

The tracking units
are legal in the state of Colorado and before they are installed in
vehicles the owners have to sign a waiver acknowledging the devices are
installed.

“I was basically told I either had to sign and have the GPS installed or else I could not get the loan for my car,” Barker said.

One
dealership manager told NewsChannel 5 that as long as people pay their
loans on time, they should not even know the device is on their car and
their staff only uses the system when someone becomes delinquent in
their payments.